Anna's Angels Run for Down Syndrome Research

Story by Leslie Huffman | September 25, 2009 | Tags: Anna's Angels, cary, Down Syndrome, North Carolina

Michelle and Anna Crossing the Finish Line

In November 2003 Michelle Pfeiffer and her family created the Anna’s Angels Foundation on behalf of their daughter.  Since then Anna’s Angels, in partnership with Duke Children’s Hospital, has been providing funding to promote laboratory and clinical research for Down syndrome.

Anna was born in June 2001 with Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality which occurs once in approximately 733 live births.   Many children with Down syndrome, like Anna, also show signs of many different medical conditions.  Some of these conditions include heart defects, vision and hearing problems, gastrointestinal disorders, underactive thyroid, and childhood leukemia.

In November 2002, Michelle and her family received devastating news that Anna had Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).  Through the difficult time of chemotherapy and recovery for Anna, Michelle learned a great deal about the connection between AML and Down syndrome.  Anna is now a healthy 8 year old girl and Michelle is very busy with the Anna’s Angels Foundation, raising funds for Down syndrome research.

The Anna’s Angels Foundation has raised over $500,000 and awarded 14 different grants since 2005.  A Down Syndrome Bio Bank is the newest and most exciting funding project Michelle is involved with.  The Bio Bank will collect tissue, blood and urine samples of Down syndrome patients that also exhibit many of the other health ailments.  The specimens collected by the Bio Bank will be stored so that researchers can pull the samples as needed to aid them in their studies of this developmental disorder.  The Bio Bank will be an invaluable tool for researchers studying the connection between Down syndrome and other medical problems.

How can you become an angel to Anna and other children like her?  Anna’s Angels sponsors 2 fund raising events each year.

• Anna’s Angels 10 Miler & 5K Run – This Sunday, September 27th, 8 a.m.  Location: 1000 Swabia Court, Glaxo Smithkline Building.  The entry fee for the 10-Mile Run is $40, up to and including race day. For the 5K, the fee is $25.
• Anna’s Angels Gala - March 13, 2010.  Keynote speaker, live and silent auctions, dinner and dancing.  Last years auction raised $95,000 for Down syndrome research.

To help Michelle and Anna in their quest to raise funds for Down syndrome research and learn more about Anna’s Angels please see their website at annas-angels.org.